Phase-contrast imaging with X-rays is used for example to enhance the contrast of low absorbing specimen compared to conventional amplitude contrast images. This allows to use less radiation applied to the object such as a patient. In order to be able to use the phase of a wave in relation with phase-contrast imaging the waves need to have a well-defined phase relation both in time and space. The temporal coherence can be provided by applying monochromatic X-ray radiation. Further, it is known to obtain X-rays with sufficient coherence from synchrotron sources. Since these methods are related to the disadvantage of higher costs and complexity, it is proposed in WO 2004/071298 A1 to provide an apparatus for generating a phase-contrast X-ray image comprising in an optical path an incoherent X-ray source, a first beam splitter grating, a second beam recombiner grating, an optical analyzer grating and an image detector. It has further recently been proposed to use higher X-ray energies in differential phase-contrast imaging (DPC). A severe obstacle in this translation is the production of phase gratings and absorption grating with high aspect ratios. If the Talbot distance of the first grating and thus the distance of the two gratings is kept constant, the aspect ratio R of the phase grating increases like E3/2, where E is the X-ray energy. The term Talbot refers to that in case of a laterally periodic wave distribution due to a diffraction grating, an image is repeated at regular distances away from the grating plane which regular distance is called the Talbot Length. The limit in aspect ratio R of state-of-the-art fabrication of gratings, for example made from silicon, is currently in the range of 15 to 20, depending on many factors like pitch (in a region of a few microns), surface roughness etc. It has shown that the range of usable energies for differential phase-contrast imaging currently ends about 30-40 keV.